Women in Gaming #2 - Mary Komasa

Hello Community,

As part of our series of articles on women who have had an amazing impact on Fort Solis, we would like to introduce singer and songwriter Mary Komasa, who answered some questions for us.

Below is also a link to the lyric music video of her song "If You Let Me", which she wrote for Fort Solis.

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Mary Komasa is a polish-born artist living in Berlin. She has released two albums : her debut produced by guy sternberg in 2015 and “disarm” produced by god colony, in 2019.

In addition to singing, she is also an active composer of film music, with credits including several Netflix series and international feature films.

Her unique style places her between classic songwriting and various experiments with orchestra, electronics, beats, but it’s always focused on a clear emotional impact.

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[h3]Q: You have already created a song that was on the soundtrack of the movie, now you have written a song for a video game. Is there a difference between making music that you know is to "illustrate" someone's story and music that you create "for yourself"?[/h3]

A: The gaming market has undergone a huge change in recent years. Games have become much more cinematic and sophisticated. The main protagonists of the game are no longer anonymous. We want to immerse ourselves in their inner world. I never write songs only for myself. I always imagine a world behind my lyrics. The atmosphere of “Fort Solis” has provided me with a great amount of inspiration, especially since I’ve always dreamt of working on a science fiction project.

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[h3]Q: As a performing artist, you certainly don't have much time for entertainment, but when there is a free moment, how do you like to spend it? Do you play video games yourself? If so, what are your favorite titles? Will you check out "Fort Solis" when it comes out? Can games ever replace movies or TV series in the field of telling engaging stories?[/h3]

A: Video games were part of my adolescence. I binged on many classic titles. I know I could easily fall through the rabbit hole again, which is why I try to keep a distance… but I will definitely play “Fort Solis” as soon as it’s released. I don’t think we need to make a choice between games and other narrative forms. In my opinion, games are on the way to becoming an art form equal to films and TV series, but an independent one. I don’t see a reason for competition, especially as there are many recent examples of synergy between them.

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[h3]Q: What inspired the lyrics for "If You Let Me" song how do you approach writing lyrics for songs?[/h3]

A: I begin my writing process by asking myself intimate questions and wondering if my answers will resonate with the outside world. I am always looking for lyrics which have a narrative quality. I want to tell a story through my words, but I always get inspired by images. "Fort Solis” provided me with such powerful visions.

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[h3]Q: How did you come up with the music itself, who also worked on the Fort Solis song? [/h3]

A: I have no rational control over my composing process. I wait and digest emotions, images and situations, and when I feel a strong urge, I run to the nearest instrument or even my phone and start singing, playing, recording. If the song is really there, it will be ready in its primal form in a couple of minutes. There is always a huge library of ideas stored in my imagination, and they just come up to the surface if there is a strong impulse.

I am really privileged to be able to work with some of the best musicians and music creators in the world. A lot of effort and talent was put into this song. I began by sitting down with my husband Antoni, with whom we always transform the preliminary form of the composition into an actual arrangement. We draw on our common film music experience, which helps us to focus the music production on the emotional effect. In our next step, we assembled an absolutely world-class group of people to produce the song.

The recording and mixing engineer, who also contributed to the production of the song, is Victor Van Vugt. If you look him up online, you will see an endless string of absolutely cult albums created by him, including most of the work by PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, as well as albums by Depeche Mode, The Pogues... Victor is a good friend and an extremely generous artist who always finds time for our projects.

The drums were performed by another living legend, Earl Harvin (Tindersticks, Air, Robbie Williams, Jeff Beck, Pet Shop Boys…). He is one of the best drummers in the world, and by working with him, we quickly learned why: his groove, the combination of heaviness and finesse, the way he melts into the arrangement, and yet remains original and free… there is no-one like him.

And another huge contributor to the song: Slowey Thomsen, the go-to bassist in Berlin, who gave the song this amazing oomph…

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Thank you for reading! We hope you've enjoyed it, and we will have our last article on the same subject this week. See you soon!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1931730/Fort_Solis/